The House of Commons health committee hearing last Thursday was held to help MPs decide whether Dame Jo was a suitable candidate for the job, following her selection by the government in July.

A report setting out the committee’s opinion was due as HSJ went to press and will inform health secretary Andrew Lansley’s decision over whether or not to proceed with the final appointment. Dame Jo faced repeated questions from Tory MP Nadine Dorries about the CQC’s weaknesses.

She responded: “I think we have some real challenges in absolutely making sure that we’re using our resources in the most effective way.

“That’s an ongoing challenge for us. We’ve been struggling, I have to say.”

Ms Dorries went on to ask a series of related questions, including whether Dame Jo took responsibility for any of the problems and if there were any other weaknesses she could think of.

“I would have thought that you would have identified a wide range of weaknesses, but it seems you gave quite a short answer,” said the MP.

Dame Jo said the regulator needed to build its public profile and provide information that would help patients to make informed choices.

She said the CQC would need to think “carefully” about how Health Watch could operate as a separate entity working within the regulator.

For example, how the bodies would hold each other to account.

Asked whether the idea was plausible within the constraints of the CQC’s £168m budget, she said that question needed to be debated.

Dame Jo also said she would consider concerns raised by Conservative MP Sarah Wollaston about the shortage of second opinion doctors involved in community treatment orders for mental health patients.

Closing the session, committee chair Stephen Dorrell asked whether, “given the broader public expenditure context”, Dame Jo thought it was her responsibility to volunteer a reduction in the CQC’s budget.

She replied: “I believe that we are rather lean already, so I don’t think that we will necessarily be volunteering.”

However, the CQC would continue to review whether it was using its resources effectively, she said.

Dame Jo has been interim CQC chair since former chair Baroness Barbara Young resigned in January.

With GP consortia on course to take over commissioning, a report seen by HSJ shows PCTs have been preparing the ground well by getting to grips with the fundamentals of local priority setting. Dave West explains